It’s reported that one of the adult victims is the suspect’s mother and a teacher at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown. Also sources said, some of the child victims were her students.

According to The Smoking Gun website, the alleged gunman is Ryan Lanza who is on FaceBook, but there are lots of fake accounts already. However, Andrew Fletcher (Fletch788) on Twitter is his friend and is talking about his ‘friend’ on Twitter.

I’m happy to report that only a few hours ago, one of my *must* see films, “Byzantium“, by Irish filmmaker Neil Jordan was picked up for distribution by IFC Films. It’s sinking its teeth into “Byzantium,” by grabbing the North American rights of this ‘intelligent‘ Vampire tale set in a sleepy English seaside tourist town and stars Gemma Arterton and Saoirse Ronan.

For the 2011 installation of the Toronto International Film Festival, Toronto filmmaker Lucius Dechausay made a 4-minute short documentary to mark the 10th Anniversary of 9/11.

My TIFF Program Book from September 2001

His film contained stock and archival footage, and interviews with 11 people, of which only 3 were Americans, one being a native New Yorker. Politically, I cannot mention the interviewees by name but, the rest were Canadians that live in Toronto. You can see their name in the credit list here.

TIFF made the decision to screen this film in front of all public screenings on September 11th, 2011. My 4 films that day were “Salmon Fishing In The Yemen”, “Dark Horse”, “The Brooklyn Brothers Beat The Best” and “Livide”.

While I’m pro-Canadian and the City of Toronto has much to offer in Arts and Culture, I was offended by the documentary each and every time I saw it. I still am in fact.

I do not believe a “commissioned film” on the horrors of 9/11 was appropriate. I also did not appreciate Canadians expressing what they could only imagine Americans and specifically New Yorkers were feeling at the time.

9/11 wasn’t an attack on Toronto. It was an attack on America. Specifically, areas of Washington D. C. and New York City itself, to try and cripple the United States of America and to break ‘our’ spirit.

9/11 is part of our New York City collective identity. A film from an American and/or a New Yorker would have been a fitting remembrance. Not, a film commissioned by high profile Canadian Radio and Print outlets, by a Toronto filmmaker whom, prior to this film made an unknown short film in 2004 called “Black Clouds“.

If any film should have been shown at TIFF 2011 to commemorate the tragedy of this date in history, it should have been this film: “11’09”01” the September 11 “USA segment“, starring the late, great character actor Ernest Borgnine and written and directed by Sean Penn. Americans…

A masked Colorado gunman opened fire on a midnight screening audience for “The Dark Knight Rises” in a theater located about 15 miles from the Littleton, Colorado. Sound familiar? It’s where two high-school seniors, Dylan Klebold and Eric Harris shot up Columbine High School, killing 13 and wounding 23 on April 20th, 1999. It’s sad that this is another page in Colorado history books.

The Dark Knight Rises Shooting – Aurora, Colorado

The first question I asked is, “What is wrong with this world?”. In the last 3 months the US has had multiple shootings in 4 states (Florida, Washington state, California, Alabama) where 27 citizens have been shot dead. Most notably, the Florida shooting of unarmed 17-year-old Trayvon Martin to just 3 days ago, where 2 people were murdered and 17 shot when a gunman walked into a crowded bar in Tuscaloosa.

It’s sad to wake up to this news at anytime of the day. But at a movie theater — where people go to feel emotions that maybe they miss in their daily lives; and also to escape reality — This is just a shame.

According to Reports and Eye Witnesses:

One witness says the audience thought it was part of the movie — then thought someone had let go of some fireworks. Eventually they realized it was gunfire, and at that point the theater turned to chaos.

Another recalls hearing “anywhere from 10 to 20 shots and little explosions going on. Shortly after that we heard people screaming. Then they came on PA system and said everyone needed to get out.”